Indie RPG News Roundup, November 15th
Indie RPGs. If the mainstream publishers ain't givin' ya what ya want, don't despair! Check out what's coming down the pipe from the small indie game studios. Here's what's happening this week:

Avernum 5
The Mac version of Avernum 5 is now available at Spiderweb Software. Hopefully this means the PC version isn't far off. Avernum 5 features include:
* An enormous world. Hundreds of quests, dozens of dungeons and enemy fortresses, and multitudes of characters.
* Epic storyline. Hunt the assassin Dorikas, while his agents try to trick and waylay you at every turn.
* Many unique encounters. Not just mindless hack and slash. Many unusual enemies that will require clever tactics to defeat.
* Rich game system with over 50 spells and battle disciplines, many character building options, and powerful secret skills to unlock.
* Unique game world. Not just the same old elves and hobbits.
* Experience with previous Avernum games is completely unnecessary to enjoy Avernum 5.

Avernum 5 (Mac Only) Now Available at Spiderweb Software


Parhedros: The Tunnels of Sethir
This 3D indie RPG was released last month. It describes itself as an "old-school, dungeon-crawling, fantasy role-playing adventure, packed full of action, magic and mayhem." It has random dungeons for replayability, 87 different kinds of monsters, several player races, puzzles (including cryptograms for obtaining spells), a somewhat "authentic" magic system (historically / traditionally based), and turn-based combat.

It also has mature content, as can probably be ascertained by the picture of the topless female centaur on the cover. The game is unapologetic about portraying classical-style art and fairies / fauns with historical authenticity, which means plenty of nakedness and near-nakedness. And sexually suggestive dialogs. There is a toggle in the game to tame things down, but it warns that it does not remove all the nudity. However, the FAQ states: "If certain fairy creatures are supposed to be naked, then let’s stay true to our calling as artists and render them naked … albeit tastefully naked. So yeah, a few of the characters in Parhedros appear naked or partially naked, and the menu art uses some nudes after the manner that Frazetta nudes graced the covers of sword-and-sorcery novels in the 1970s. And the satyr is ithyphallic. But none of this is gratuitous or salacious. It’s not even sexy."

Take that for what it's worth. Tip o' the beanie to RPGWatch for the heads-up on this one.

Parhedros: The Tunnels of Sethir (NSFW)


The Broken Hourglass
RPGCodex has a pretty awesome, "deep" interview with Jason Compton concerning The Broken Hourglass discussing, amongst other things, the urban environment that makes up the entire game. An excerpt:

'Being in an urban setting means something to the type and variety of people you expect to encounter--fewer wayward lumberjacks and nymphs, and more candle makers, weavers, and artists. More significant than the actual location, I think, is the fact that the PC is cast as a resident of Mal Nassrin. Many RPGs put the player in the role of the Eastwood-esque Stranger. That's all well and good, but rather than dropping the PC from 5000 feet into a strange environment and teaching them the local mores as a newcomer, we are able to join more activity "in progress." '

Broken Hourglass Interview at RPGCodex


Depths of Peril
Soldak Entertainment has three more monsters from Depths of Peril available on the website: The Kodiak, the Changeling, and the Totem Monster.

Soldak has also released the Beta 1.004 Patch for Depths of Peril. Besides fixing some bugs I have never really seen in the game (like a covenant thinking it was at war with itself?), it improves the rogue's combat ability, and adds a new "very hard" aggression level for enemy covenants. Just in case you thought the other factions in the game were a little too wussy before.

The Twenty
I just heard about this one today, entitled "The Twenty." It's way not ready for prime-time yet, but the author is a full-time mainstream publisher doing indie games on the side (what psycho person would do THAT?). Will it make it to final? Will it use the stick-figure programmer art? I dunno, but it's actually kinda cool. I ... just can't describe it. But you'll get an extra kick out of it if you are a fan of Order of the Stick. You can watch the video available at The Hobbit Hole:

Video of The Twenty at The Hobbit Hole


(Vaguely) related talkin' about other peoples' games:
* PC RPGs for the Holidays...
* Indie RPG News Roundup, November 7
* Indie RPG News Roundup, November 2

Got more indie RPG news, or a correction, or comments to make?
Post Away on the Forum Thread!

Labels: Indie RPG News, Roleplaying Games

- posted by The Rampant Coyote @ 8:47 PM (Permalink)